Stewart’s research focuses on predictive modeling in AI, clinical decision support, medical image processing, and clinical problem-solving and decision-making. She is also an accomplished author and co-author of radiologic and imaging science program textbooks.

On Oct. 25, the international radiology and medical imaging industry professionals’ website AuntMinnie.com named Stewart a finalist, for a second year, in the prestigious Best of Radiology Minnie Awards. She found out a few weeks later that she was this year's winner!

“My passion has always been patient-centered care and helping the patient. That’s why I got into the field of medical imaging,” Stewart said. “And that’s why I’m just as passionate about health informatics. My ‘ah-ha’ moment came when I realized the strong connections of how the different software applications that we’re developing, and the different algorithms we’re writing for AI tools, can really impact how we care for patients and also impact patient outcomes."

Stewart’s clinical informatics research is trained on the urinary system with kidney stones as her main focus. She’s also currently looking at medullary sponge kidney, a rare, benign, congenital disorder leading to formation of cysts in the kidneys.

“You always try to pick something in research that you’re passionate about,” Stewart said.

“It’s what keeps you motivated and interested, because research can be tedious at times! Especially when we’re working with large data sets. That’s what I’m doing – working with very large data sets, looking at using some mathematical processes that help to predict outcomes for patients.”

As imaging modalities such as CT scans utilize ionizing radiation, Stewart’s research involves available data, rather than clinical trial. That’s where AI has proven to be an essential research partner.

“I’m using data that’s already been released, so it’s always a retrospective study; but it allows me to also do some unsupervised training on my data,” Stewart said.

Essentially, Stewart first supervises the computer, training it to look through data for specifics. Once the computer learns what needs to be recognized and identified, it enters an unsupervised phase with predictive modeling and predicting outcomes.

In that unsupervised phase, Stewart can utilize a regression model; starting off with a singular area of data she may want to identify which will touch off many “if, then” scenarios.

“What I mean by that is if you see this, then also, we’re going to do this next; and also, I want to know about this next characteristic,” Stewart said. “It’s very specific, which is amazing, especially in healthcare, because we really want to make sure that our research is going to provide sensitivity and specificity for the patient at the highest percentage rate possible.”

Stewart’s current role at Quinnipiac began in 2022, following 12 years of teaching at other institutions as part-time adjunct professor and full-time faculty at both the clinical assistant professor and clinical associate professor levels.

Among her peers, Stewart has been elected president of the Association of Educators in Imaging and Radiologic Sciences board of directors (after having served as president-elect and secretary/treasurer).

She is also a site visitor for the Joint Review Committee on Education of Radiologic Technologists and education chapter delegate and member of the editorial review board (ERB) for the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT).

In her professional career, Stewart has also served as clinical director of CT, MRI, and ultrasound. Outside of academia, she served as program director of radiologic technology and director of training for the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM).

“I enjoyed my role there, but I missed my college students so much,” said Stewart. “They are the ones who inspire me to be better, to do better, to want to stay up with the latest technology and what’s happening in our field and advocate for our profession.”

As an associate professor of diagnostic imaging at Quinnipiac’s School of Health Sciences on the North Haven Campus, Stewart strives to provide students with an interactive environment with hands-on activities, and innovative instruction that includes emerging and relevant health and imaging informatics applications.

“As faculty we are subject-matter experts, and certainly we have a lot of knowledge to share with our students, but I also learn something new every time I go into the classroom with my students. This generation has so much to offer,” Stewart said. “My students are the reason I do what I do.”

Stewart hopes to instill in her students the incredible value of research, an understanding of how research impacts patient-centered care, and how their field is a significant part of the interprofessional component of healthcare.

“A lot of people don’t realize how necessary and how valuable research is in our field of medical imaging,” said Stewart.

Stewart’s impressive range of academic and administrative functions across the radiologic and imaging sciences and imaging informatics led to her current tenure-track appointment at Quinnipiac, which she says is her dream job.

“I have such a passion and a love for research. It gave me an opportunity to do something that I love,” said Stewart, adding, “…there are not a lot of tenure-track opportunities in our field. Most of the faculty appointments are clinical. For me, this is a dream come true."

She succeeds retired program director William Hennessy, the person Stewart credits with seeing the teacher in her. Hennessy gave Stewart her first teaching job as an adjunct at Quinnipiac.

As a Quinnipiac alumnus, Stewart, ’10 MS ’14, is also delighted to note that her career has now come full circle. She graduated with BS in Diagnostic Imaging in May 2010, and took her first adjunct teaching role at Quinnipiac in the fall of 2010.

“Quinnipiac means a lot to me. Not only is my bachelor’s from here; I went on to pursue a master’s in health sciences at Quinnipiac as well, so I could continue teaching,” said Stewart. “And now, I have the privilege of being the program director of the very program in which I was a student.”

As a student, Stewart recalls being drawn to Quinnipiac’s exceptional facilities and faculty.

“You immediately felt welcomed; that you were valued and part of the community and the diagnostic imaging family,” said Stewart. “I’ve always had my eye on coming back, because I know how much this institution meant to me as a student, and I wanted to pay it forward as a faculty member. It is humbling and an absolute honor to be a part of this community. There are so many amazing faculty, not only in my department but also in the School of Health Sciences and in the greater community of Quinnipiac. We have an amazing campus, but more importantly we have an amazing, encouraging, and supportive community.”